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Baltimore Says Supreme Court Should Ignore Fossil Fuel Companies’ Appeal

Filed Under: Baltimore Lawsuit, Latest News, Liability Litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court should reject a request by fossil fuel companies to review an appellate court ruling that Baltimore’s climate liability suit against them belongs in state court, according to a brief filed by the city.

Baltimore, which filed its brief Monday with the high court, argued the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was correct to reject the companies’ argument that the case belongs in federal court under the Federal Officer Removal Statute and was correct to decline to review the oil giants’ other arguments.

Like dozens of climate-related lawsuits filed across the country, the question of jurisdiction—whether the suit will proceed in federal or state court—has been hotly contested. 

Baltimore wants the case against Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and more than a dozen other companies, to be heard in state court, where it was filed in 2018 alleging violations of state law. The fossil fuel companies want the case to be heard in federal court, where previous climate-related cases have been decided largely in the industry’s favor.

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Newest Climate Liability Suits: Climate Justice Is Racial Justice

Filed Under: Baltimore Lawsuit, Liability Litigation, Minnesota Lawsuit, Washington DC Lawsuit

By Karen Savage

Climate-related lawsuits—like any litigation—can seem far removed from those who are most directly impacted. 

Municipalities filing climate change-related lawsuits have outlined why they believe fossil fuel companies have violated the law. They’ve described climate damage done to local infrastructure and why a warming atmosphere creates dangers to public health, property and livelihoods and why the industry should compensate for those harms.

But until recently, the suits have not mentioned that climate change does not impact all communities equally.

That changed last week, when attorneys general in Minnesota and Washington D.C. honed in on the disproportionate impact climate change is having on low-income communities and communities of color as they filed lawsuits against major fossil fuel companies.

First up was Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who sued Exxon,  three Koch Industries entities and the American Petroleum Institute for deceiving the public about the risks their products pose to the climate.

“Minnesota is in the midst of a climate-change crisis,” Ellison wrote in the complaint, which was filed in Minnesota state court. “The world has already warmed approximately two degrees Fahrenheit due to human-caused climate change; Minnesota has warmed even more. Warming will continue with devastating economic and public-health consequences across the state and, in particular, disproportionately impact people living in poverty and people of color.” 

Washington D.C. attorney general Karl Racine echoed Ellison’s emphasis on the disproportionate impacts in a lawsuit filed the next day in Washington’s Superior Court against ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, and Shell for climate deception.

“The District will continue to experience flooding, extreme weather, and heat waves exacerbated by climate change, with particularly severe impacts in low-income communities and communities of color,” wrote Racine in his complaint.

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DC Files Latest Climate Suit Vs. Big Oil

Filed Under: Liability Litigation, Washington DC Lawsuit

By Karen Savage

Washington D.C. has filed a lawsuit against oil majors ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, and Shell, accusing them of deceiving consumers about climate change risks and engaging in a coordinated decades-long campaign to mislead the public, attorney general Karl A. Racine announced on Thursday. 

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of suits that attempt to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in climate change, with this one and one filed Wednesday by the state of Minnesota both specifically targeting the industry’s pattern of deception. 

The lawsuit, filed in Washington’s Superior Court, alleges the companies knew as early as the 1950s that emissions from burning oil and gas posed an existential threat to humanity. Instead of warning consumers, the district alleges the companies engaged in a multi-decade, multi-million dollar public relations campaign to cast doubt on climate research in order to protect their profits.

Similar to a suit filed yesterday by Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, Racine alleges the companies violated his district’s consumer protection laws. 

“For decades, these oil and gas companies spent millions to mislead consumers and discredit climate science in pursuit of profits,” Racine said. “The defendants violated the District’s consumer protection law by concealing the fact that using fossil fuels threatens the health of District residents and the environment. OAG (Office of Attorney General) filed this suit to end these disinformation campaigns and to hold these companies accountable for their deceptive practices.”

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